LitCharts (2024)

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"Phenomenal Woman" is a poem by Maya Angelou, first published in 1978. The poem rejects narrow societal expectations of women and proposes an alternative perspective on what defines real beauty. Confidence and comfort in one's own skin, the speaker insists, are the markers of true beauty.

• Read the full text of “Phenomenal Woman”

• “Phenomenal Woman” Summary

• “Phenomenal Woman” Themes

  • 

    Beauty and Self-Acceptance

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-60

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Phenomenal Woman”

  • Lines 1-4

    Pretty women wonder ...
    ... I’m telling lies.

  • Lines 5-9

    I say, ...
    ... of my lips.

  • Lines 10-13

    I’m a woman ...
    ... That’s me.

  • Lines 14-20

    I walk into ...
    ... of honey bees.

  • Lines 21-29

    I say, ...
    ... That’s me.

  • Lines 30-36

    Men themselves have ...
    ... still can’t see.

  • Lines 37-45

    I say, ...
    ... That’s me.

  • Lines 46-51

    Now you understand ...
    ... make you proud.

  • Lines 52-60

    I say, ...
    ... That’s me.

• “Phenomenal Woman” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Parallelism

    Where parallelism appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-13: “I say, / It’s in the reach of my arms, / The span of my hips, / The stride of my step, / The curl of my lips. / I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 21-29: “I say, / It’s the fire in my eyes, / And the flash of my teeth, / The swing in my waist, / And the joy in my feet. / I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 37-45: “I say, / It’s in the arch of my back, / The sun of my smile, / The ride of my breasts, / The grace of my style. / I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 52-60: “I say, / It’s in the click of my heels, / The bend of my hair, / the palm of my hand, / The need for my care. / ’Cause I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”

  • Anaphora

    Where anaphora appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “It’s in the”
    • Line 7: “The”
    • Line 8: “The”
    • Line 9: “The”
    • Line 22: “It’s the”
    • Line 23: “And the”
    • Line 24: “The”
    • Line 25: “And the”
    • Line 38: “It’s in the”
    • Line 39: “The”
    • Line 40: “The”
    • Line 41: “The”
    • Line 53: “It’s in the”
    • Line 54: “The”
    • Line 55: “the”
    • Line 56: “The”

  • Refrain

    Where refrain appears in the poem:

    • Lines 10-13: “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 26-29: “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 42-45: “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 57-60: “’Cause I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”

  • Assonance

    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “lies”
    • Line 2: “cute,” “suit,” “size”
    • Line 4: “lies”
    • Line 7: “hips”
    • Line 9: “ lips”
    • Line 11: “Phenomenally”
    • Line 13: “me”
    • Line 14: “room”
    • Line 15: “cool,” “you,” “please”
    • Line 16: “And,” “to,” “man”
    • Line 17: “stand”
    • Line 18: “knees”
    • Line 19: “me”
    • Line 20: “bees”
    • Line 22: “fire,” “eyes”
    • Line 23: “teeth”
    • Line 25: “feet”
    • Line 27: “Phenomenally”
    • Line 29: “me”
    • Line 30: “Men,” “themselves”
    • Line 31: “see,” “me”
    • Line 32: “much”
    • Line 33: “touch”
    • Line 34: “mystery”
    • Line 36: “see”
    • Line 38: “my”
    • Line 39: “my,” “smile”
    • Line 40: “ride,” “my”
    • Line 41: “my,” “style”
    • Line 43: “Phenomenally”
    • Line 45: “me”
    • Line 47: “bowed”
    • Line 48: “shout,” “about”
    • Line 49: “loud”
    • Line 50: “see,” “me”
    • Line 51: “proud”
    • Line 54: “hair”
    • Line 56: “care”
    • Line 58: “Phenomenally”
    • Line 60: “me”

  • Metaphor

    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 19-20: “Then they swarm around me, / A hive of honey bees.”
    • Line 22: “It’s the fire in my eyes,”
    • Line 39: “The sun of my smile,”

  • Asyndeton

    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Lines 6-9: “It’s in the reach of my arms, / The span of my hips, / The stride of my step, / The curl of my lips.”
    • Lines 23-24: “And the flash of my teeth, / The swing in my waist,”
    • Lines 38-41: “It’s in the arch of my back, / The sun of my smile, / The ride of my breasts, / The grace of my style.”
    • Lines 53-56: “It’s in the click of my heels, / The bend of my hair, / the palm of my hand, / The need for my care.”

  • Chiasmus

    Where chiasmus appears in the poem:

    • Lines 10-13: “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 26-29: “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 42-45: “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
    • Lines 57-60: “’Cause I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”

  • Consonance

    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “women wonder where,” “secret”
    • Line 2: “not cute,” “built to suit,” “size”
    • Lines 3-4: “start to tell them, / They think”
    • Line 4: “telling lies”
    • Line 6: “reach,” “my arms”
    • Line 7: “span,” “hips”
    • Line 8: “stride,” “step”
    • Line 9: “lips”
    • Line 16: “And,” “man”
    • Line 17: “fellows,” “stand”
    • Line 18: “Fall,” “down on,” “their,” “knees”
    • Line 19: “Then they swarm around me”
    • Line 20: “hive,” “honey”
    • Line 22: “fire”
    • Line 23: “flash”
    • Line 24: “swing,” “waist”
    • Line 25: “feet”
    • Lines 30-31: “ wondered / What”
    • Line 32: “much”
    • Line 33: “touch”
    • Line 36: “say,” “still,” “see”
    • Line 37: “say”
    • Line 39: “sun,” “my smile”
    • Line 40: “breasts”
    • Line 41: “grace,” “style”
    • Line 49: “to talk,” “real loud”
    • Line 50: “see,” “passing”
    • Line 51: “proud”
    • Line 53: “click,” “heels”
    • Line 54: “hair”
    • Line 55: “hand”
    • Line 56: “care”
    • Line 57: “Cause”

• “Phenomenal Woman” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Span
  • Stride
  • Phenomenal
  • Swarm
  • Hive
  • Mystery
  • Ride
  • Grace

  • (Location in poem: Line 7: “span”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Phenomenal Woman”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Phenomenal Woman” Speaker

• “Phenomenal Woman” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Phenomenal Woman”

• More “Phenomenal Woman” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Maya Angelou and Women's History— An overview of Maya Angelou's role in feminism as a writer and activist.

    • "Phenomenal Woman" Read Aloud— Maya Angelou recites her poem.

    • Maya Angelou in Her Own Words— More on Angelou's fascinating life story, including many quotes from the poet.

    • Biography of Maya Angelou— An overview of Maya Angelou's life and work.

    • Women's Idealized Bodies— An article covering the rise of the fashion industry and how it has promoted the "Thin Ideal.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Maya Angelou

    • Caged Bird

    • Country Lover

    • Harlem Hopscotch

    • Life Doesn't Frighten Me

    • On Aging

    • On the Pulse of Morning

    • Still I Rise

    • When Great Trees Fall

    • Woman Work